Icy Sparks

Summary (from the publisher): As if growing up wasn't hard enough.... Set in the 1950s, Gwyn Hyman Rubio's Icy Sparks tells the touching story of young Icy Sparks, a teenage darling living in a small Kentucky town. Icy certainly doesn't have it easy -- her uncontrollable, unexplainable twitches, jerks, and spasms make her a pariah in her own backyard. In a complusively readable style, Icy tells her touching coming-of-age story: from her experiences at a children's asylum and her bouts of isolation to the remarkable friendship that changes her life forever. Icy Sparks is a beautifully rendered novel about an amazing girl with a tremendous gift who is forced to face the ignorance surrounding her misunderstood disease.


Review: Icy Sparks tells the story of a young girl growing up in rural Kentucky and suffering from undiagnosed Tourette's syndrome.  Icy is rejected by her peers and hospitalized because of her twitches and uncontrollable outbursts. Icy has few friends other than her grandparents and Miss Emily, a heavily obese woman who is also ostracized by the community.


While the plot of this novel was classic Oprah's Book Club, I was disappointed by the quality of the narrative. I found the dialogue stilted, and didn't think it matched the voice of a young girl. Many of the characters seem stilted and static. The conclusion and Icy finding religion was unsatisfactory, as well. I felt that there was no resolution to Icy's dilemmas and I also wanted to learn what happened to Miss Emily. 


Despite a promising plot, this book failed to deliver, in my opinion. I love Oprah and I'm not one of her book club haters, but I definitely question her judgment in selecting this book.


Stars: 2.5